Thursday, 26 December 2013

26 December 2013 – The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees today condemned
Israel’s latest demolitions in the West Bank which have displaced 68
people, including 32 children, in the depths of winter, saying it is
violating international law and calling on it to abide by its
obligations.
“Because of these demolitions, which violate international law, these
historically self-sufficient communities have been forced to endure the
pitiless seasonal weather in inadequate housing, entirely dependent on
international assistance,” the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
said of the demolitions which took place on Christmas Eve in Ein Ayoub
near Ramallah and Fasayil Al Wusta near Jericho in the Jordan valley.

Thursday, 19 December 2013

DHARAMSHALA: A Tibetan monk died after setting himself on fire in Sangchu county in Kanlho prefecture in northeastern Tibet (incorporated into China’s Gansu Province) on Thursday (19 December), according to reports coming out Tibet.

Tsultrim Gyatso, a 44-year-old monk of Achok Monastery in Labrang Tashikhyil, set fire to himself on the main street in Achok town around 3 pm today. He died on the spot. The local Tibetans immediately took his body into the monastery, where prayer service was conducted by over 400 monks.

Photos of the incident showed his completely charred body in flames and people pouring water to douse the fire.

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Russia will provide gas to Ukraine at a price of $ 268.5 dollars per thousand cubic meters which is lower by one third of the previous price which was $ 400 per thousand cubic meters, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday after a meeting of the Russian- Ukrainian Interstate Commission.

The agreement was signed between Russia’s "Gazprom" and "Natftogaz Ukraine" in the presence of President Putin and President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.

Saturday, 14 December 2013

UNITED NATIONS, December 14 (Itar-Tass) - Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly
Churkin has said that chemical attacks in Syria, including the one in
Guta on August 21, were staged by the Syrian Opposition, which was
trying to provoke armed intervention by Western countries.

Churkin was
speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly behind closed doors on
Friday. A transcript of his statement has been circulated by Russia’s
permanent mission at the United Nations.

Monday, 9 December 2013

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia has begun testing a new radar designed to detect highly maneuverable aerial targets – including cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles – at a range of up to 3,000 kilometers (over 1,800 miles), allowing it to cover most of Europe.

The new-generation over-the-horizon radar, dubbed Container, was put on trial duty near the town of Kovylkino in Russia’s republic of Mordovia on December 2.

Sunday, 8 December 2013

KIEV, December 8 (RIA Novosti) – Several hundred thousand people
gathered in the Ukrainian capital Sunday for one of the largest protest
rallies in the former Soviet nation’s history, throwing down the
gauntlet to a government that has resisted calls for negotiation with
the opposition.

In an incident that may have spark criminal investigations and cast a
shadow over the generally pacific events, however, a group of
nationalists ripped down a statue of Soviet revolutionary leader
Vladimir Lenin.The mass assembly in Kiev was the biggest to date since the
government last month pulled out of preparations to sign landmark
political and trade deals with the EU, sparking widespread indignation
across Ukraine.

Saturday, 7 December 2013

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel has said the United States will
maintain a wide array of military forces in the Middle East to ensure
security in the region despite diplomatic overtures toward Iran over its
nuclear program.Hagel, in prepared remarks to the Manama Dialogue security forum in
Bahrain, said on Saturday that the Pentagon had no plan to adjust
its military presence or planning in the region as a result of
an interim accord on Tehran's nuclear enrichment program.

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Hurricane-force winds cut transport and power in northern Britain and and blasted towards mainland Europe, as meteorologists warned Storm Xaver could be the worst to hit the continent in years.

British authorities said the Thames Barrier, designed to protect London from flooding during exceptional tides, would shut tonight and warned of “the most serious coastal tidal surge for over 60 years in England”.

Prime minister David Cameron called two emergency meetings to discuss strategy.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

3 December 2013 – Reporting “modest progress” with the Syrian
Government on speeding up visa issuance and increasing the number of
relief distribution hubs, a top United Nations official said today that
with perhaps 250,000 Syrians cut off from aid in besieged communities
across the war-torn country, greater efforts are needed to ensure real
gains on the humanitarian front. “I advised the Security Council that we have seen some modest progress
in terms of administrative procedures that had been put in place over
time,” said Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, as she spoke to reporters
after briefing the 15-member body on the humanitarian situation in
Syria.

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

JOURNALIST: What stance will you maintain with the troika from here on in?
E. VENIZELOS: On the margins of today’s Meeting of
NATO Foreign Ministers, and ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between the
Greek government and the College of EU Commissioners, I am having a
series of meetings in which my message – Greece’s message, the message
of the Greek people and our government – is very, very clear: We want
substantial, not just rhetorical, acknowledgement of the sacrifices and
great achievements of the Greek people.

Monday, 2 December 2013

2 December 2013 – Top United Nations officials marked the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery today with a call for concerted action to eradicate the contemporary forms of this heinous practice.

“It
is vital that we give special consideration to ending modern-day
slavery and servitude which affects the poorest, most socially excluded
groups – including migrants, women, discriminated ethnic groups,
minorities and indigenous peoples,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said
in his message for the Day, observed annually on 2 December.

Saturday, 30 November 2013

BRUSSELS, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - The United States has offered
to destroy the most lethal of Syria's chemical weapons on a naval vessel
at sea using hydrolysis, the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical weapons said Saturday.Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced in a statement to the OPCW
Executive Council on Friday that Washington will “contribute a
destruction technology, full operational support and financing to
neutralize Syria’s priority chemicals, which are to be removed from the
country by December 31.”

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Iraq is warning Turkey not to follow
through on an oil deal with the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG), which is expected to start exporting oil to Turkey as early as
next month.

Baghdad officials have voiced strong opposition to any energy deals
between Ankara and the KRG, insisting that only they have authority to
make energy deals, a claim disputed by both Ankara and the KRG.

According to Sinan Ulgen, a visiting scholar Carnegie Institute in
Brussels, energy cooperation between Ankara and the KRG is deepening,
and shipments could start soon.

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

The Italian Senate has expelled three-time ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi from Parliament over his tax fraud conviction.The vote on Wednesday halts the 77-year-old Berlusconi's legislative
run for at least six years, but does not mark the end of his political
career.Berlusconi had maintained his defiance ahead of the vote, declaring
Wednesday a "day of mourning for democracy" before thousands of
cheering, flag-waving supporters outside his Roman palazzo.

Tuesday, 26 November 2013

[Source: Financial Times]By Tobias Buck in Madrid and Simon Rabinovitch in ShanghaiThere is rising concern in Spain over
a diplomatic and economic backlash from China, after a criminal court
in Madrid called for the arrest of five former Chinese leaders for their
role in alleged crimes of genocide in Tibet.The ruling, handed down last week, is aimed at Jiang Zemin, the
former Chinese president, Li Peng, the former prime minister, and three
other high-ranking ex-officials. The men are said to have held
“political or military responsibility” in periods when the Chinese
authorities are alleged to have committed human rights abuses against
the Tibetan population.

Monday, 25 November 2013

MFA, Monday, 25 November 2013-E. VENIZELOS: We now come to the presentation of the logo. The
Presidency’s logo is very important, because it is the Presidency’s
hallmark.

This hallmark will accompany and certify our every
action. It will accompany every event that happens within the framework
of our Presidency. I think it sets out in a very clear manner our basic
communication strategy for a Greek European Presidency.

Sunday, 24 November 2013

Clashes between protesters and police erupted Sunday as tens of thousands demanded that Kiev sign a landmark trade deal with the EU next week as planned. Ukraine is widely seen to have bowed to pressure from Moscow not to sign the agreement.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian protesters, angered that Kiev has dropped plans to sign a landmark trade deal with the EU, clashed with police on Sunday as they tried to storm the government building in the capital.

Protesters waving EU flags tried to break through the police ranks surrounding the building, with some throwing stones and hitting officers with the signs they were carrying, as police fought back with batons and tear gas.

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Iran is to curb its nuclear activities, initially for six months, in return for limited relief from sanctions. US President Barack Obama welcomed the deal, saying it
included "substantial limitations which will help prevent Iran from
building a nuclear weapon".But Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has insisted Iran retains its right to enrich uranium.

China's defense ministry has released an air defense zone map for the
East China Sea that includes islands controlled by Japan, but claimed by
China.

In a statement on its website Saturday, the ministry said
that under a new set of rules, all aircraft entering the zone must
notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military
measures if they do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing.
The statement said the rules went into effect on Saturday.

There
was no immediate response from Japan, but earlier this month, Japan
scrambled fighter jets in the East China Sea after it spotted what it
said was an unmanned aircraft flying toward Japan.

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

In the shadow of the Syrian civil war, a growing number of refugees are surviving in Lebanon by illegally selling their own organs. But the exchange comes at a huge cost.

The young man, who called himself Raïd, wasn't doing well. He climbed
into the backseat of the car, in pain, careful not to touch any corners.
He was exhausted and dizzy. A large bandage looped around his stomach,
caked with blood. Despite that, the 19-year-old Syrian wanted to tell
his story.

Monday, 11 November 2013

The annual UN climate conference opened Monday in Poland, a European country that has been singled out for its pollution. Negotiations will continue until 2015, when an emissions agreement must be signed....By Anne-Diandra LOUARN (text) Smokestacks as high as the Eiffel Tower, 30 million tons of carbon dioxide produced each year … welcome to the Bełchatów Power Station in Poland.This giant thermal plant produces 20 percent of the country’s electricity and has its own mine for the extraction of lignite, or brown coal.

Friday, 8 November 2013

JERUSALEM, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Israel will not be bound to any agreements reached between Iran and the six world powers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry prior to his departure from Israel on Friday.

Netanyahu met with Kerry at the airport on Friday morning, just before Kerry was to continue on to Geneva to join the talks between Iran and the Western countries.

The meeting was described as "tense" with Netanyahu saying before it that Israel vehemently opposes the apparent deal that seems to come into play on the Iranian nuclear plan.

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

There are scads of building-size, potentially hazardous asteroids
lurking in Earth’s immediate neighborhood, and they may be colliding
with the planet 10 times more often than scientists have previously
believed, according to a new study published Wednesday that examined the
airburst of a 25-million-pound asteroid earlier this year near the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.
Three studies released Wednesday, two in the journal Nature and
one in the journal Science, have provided the most detailed description
and analysis of the dramatic event on the morning of Feb. 15.

Scientists now estimate the diameter of the object at just a hair
under 20 meters, or about 65 feet. Undetected by astronomers, the rock
came out of the glare of the sun and hit the atmosphere at 43,000 miles
per hour.

Tuesday, 5 November 2013

AFP - Qatar's emir criticised Tuesday what he claimed were
unconditional terms for a proposed peace conference on Syria, saying the
talks would lead nowhere and should focus on "achieving justice" for
Syria's people.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, whose country has been a main backer
of the Syrian rebellion, criticised "attempts by some to substitute
achieving justice for the (Syrian) people, who have paid the heaviest
price... with unconditional negotiations that lack a timeframe and lead
nowhere."

His remarks come as Washington, Moscow and the United Nations are
trying to fix a date for the so-called Geneva II talks bringing all
sides together to discuss a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

Monday, 4 November 2013

Turkish border guards seized three vehicles loaded with over 1,000 kg
of chemicals as they tried to illegally cross the border into Syria.
One of the smugglers was arrested, while others managed to escape.
The Turkish General Staff reported that the chemicals were seized
after a convoy of three vehicles refused to stop and attempted to
illegally cross the border near the southeastern Turkish town of
Reyhanli on Saturday.

Paramilitary police were ordered to shoot out the tires of the
vehicles to stop them. As the tires caught on fire, the three
drivers jumped out and fled in the direction of Syria. One of
them was arrested.

The vehicles contained 20 bags of sulphur, weighing about 50 kg
each, and eight sealed barrels. Their contents were not
immediately known.

Sunday, 3 November 2013

2 November 2013 – On the eve of municipal elections in Kosovo, the
United Nations mission there said that police and international security
are undertaking all necessary measures to ensure a safe election period
following attacks at least two of the candidates.
“UNMIK (UN Mission in Kosovo) strongly condemns the recent violence
against figures involved in the election process,” a spokesperson said, adding that while the nature of their cause is still being investigated, “such attacks must be condemned by all.”
The democratic process demands an environment free of violence and intimidation, the Mission stressed.

Saturday, 2 November 2013

AFP - Greek authorities believe an extremist group may be behind a drive-by shooting outside the offices of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party in which two men were killed and another wounded, sources close to the investigation said Saturday.

Investigators are examining "all avenues, particularly those that link these events to extremist groups" behind a series of attacks on politicians, police, banks and the media, according to one source.

The revelation came as the mother of the wounded man, 29-year-old Alexandros Gerontas, called on Greek people to "overcome their differences" for the good of the country and to "stop the bloodshed".

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday blasted an Israeli
announcement made earlier in the day to advance settlement construction
in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Ban condemned as "contrary
to international law" the move announced by Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu in conjunction with Israel's release early Wednesday morning
of 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners.He added that further Israeli building in areas over the Green Line constituted "an obstacle to peace".However,
Ban stated his appreciation for Israel's undertaking the "difficult
step" of releasing the second batch of pre-Oslo prisoners amid "deep
domestic opposition" as a gesture for continuing peace talks with the
Palestinian Authority.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

UNITED NATIONS, October 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russia does not share the idea that the United Nations Security Council would work better if the right of its permanent members to block its resolutions is loosened, Russian Premanent Representative at the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday.

“It is a profound mistake to believe that the loosening of the veto powers might help enhance the efficiency of the Security Council,” he said. “On the contrary, it will have a reverse effect leading to “rubber-stamping” approaches that reflect the opinion of one group of states. The United Nations was conceived not for that.”

Monday, 28 October 2013

China is stepping up pressure on Japan in a long-running maritime
dispute, deploying Chinese vessels near contested East China Sea islands
and accusing Japanese leaders of making provocative statements.

Japan
said four Chinese coast guard patrol ships entered the disputed waters
on Monday morning, prompting Japanese authorities to warn the vessels to
leave the area, which they did a short time later.

Chinese
ships have sailed near the islets on dozens of occasions in the past
year. Such incidents typically end within several hours, with the
Chinese vessels leaving the area after trading warnings and sovereignty
claims with the Japanese.